We’ll be working on a review for Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield, so I got in touch with Niel to talk a bit about the game’s development. Come check it out!
PS4Blog: Hi! Thank you for taking the time to join us at PS4Blog.net. Could you please help us get started by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your work?
Hi, I’m Neil, I go by Aerial_Knight online, and I’m the creator and developer of Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield, a project that I’ve been creating for the past two years or so
PS4B: On that note, Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is ready to go for its May 19 release on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5. How would you describe the game to someone who’s never heard about it?
I like to describe the game as a “Narrative Runner” as the game has a story and an ending. The game is about the length of an action movie which you’ll have fun playing over and over, trying to beat your previous times. The game plays a bit differently than the more traditional runners – it’s really something you have to feel to understand. The normal mode is very accessible to people that don’t normally play games in the genre, and the harder modes are built to offer more of a challenge. Overall, it’s a really chill game.
PS4B: Did the game change much between the initial concept phase and what we are now getting to enjoy on consoles?
The game didn’t change too much from the initial concept. After my first playtest, I had some really good feedback and focused the game more on what I found fun, and tweaked the store to be more of a mystery for players to figure out on their own.
PS4B: How long did it take to develop the game? Were there any particular hurdles or challenges you had to overcome along the way?
The game took about two and a half years to make, but I’m sure I would have finished faster if I wasn’t working two part-time jobs the entire time, lol. It was a lot of late nights and tweaking gameplay to feel just right in the different modes. The biggest hurdle was level design. I decided not to procedurally generate levels and go for hand placing all of the obstacles and art. It just made the game feel a lot better but took a lot of time.
PS4B: The game’s art style and soundtrack are definitely an important part of the overall experience. Is there a way for people to buy the soundtrack? I’d also love to ask if there’s perhaps a making-of/art book for the game being considered.
Yes, I’m working on options for people to enjoy the soundtrack outside of the game. We spent a lot of time on it, I knew people would like it, but the reaction was a bit overwhelming. I’ll have something for people looking for that after the game launches. As for an art book, I would love to make one, but I wanna see if there is interest from players first. Everything is really up to them at this point.
PS4B: And that’s all the time we have for today. Is there something else you’d like to add before we go?
There are so many amazing indie games out in the world, new and old. I know the big AAA games are really flashy and get most of the attention, but for a few dollars, you can try out an indie game. You’ll be supporting the heart of the games industry, and who knows, you could run across one of your new favorite games. Other than that, check me out on Twitter. I post all the updates about my game there.
